Lord of the Rings series!?

[Voronwë the Faithful]

English, please.

[Jude]

Eezdagrandsonofjrr.

[Dave_LF]

I don't see those statements as incompatible with the young Aragorn idea, in particular if the story follows him all the way to the war. It could also mean they'll be telling War of the Ring stories from the perspective(s) of someone(s) not in the fellowship.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I wouldn't be surprised if they end up doing the young Aragorn idea, but I very much doubt that they have settled on doing so, or that they will settle on a definite plan until they have a showrunner and writers, and a clearer idea of what the role of the Tolkien Estate and Jackson will be. From what she says, the deal wasn't even finalized until AFTER the TORN twitter report (which again was never confirmed even on the TORN home page).

[kzer_za]

I recall early reports that it would be coming sooner, maybe 2019? If they say 2021 now, that is encouraging because it means they are (or at least could be) taking their time try to get it right.

And who knows...if the Tolkien estate is involved it could mean at least a partial slice of The Silmarillion. Maybe.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I could be wrong too (and I don't have time go back and look) but I think the reference to 2019 was for when production would be begin, not when the show would air. I think even that is too fast and I agree with you that the 2021 timeline is encouraging.

[kzer_za]

So someone posted this earlier...

So that being said, what might have gotten Christopher Tolkien to sign on to this? A few possibilities:

1. Someone is manipulating Christopher in dementia and old age.
2. Chris has handed licensing decisions over to someone else in the Estate and is stepping aside to let them make the decision here even if he disagrees.
3. After declining decades of opportunities to cash in on the legendarium by licensing the Silmarillion or with official fan fiction (mostly writing obtuse academic tomes about his father's work instead), Christopher has decided to focus on the money and take the $250 million. This seems odd for someone in his 90s, but maybe he's concerned about his great-grandchildren? Who knows.
4. The contract has provisions for strong creative roles to people who Christopher absolutely trusts.

I certainly hope it's not 1 (and since he just published Beren and Lúthien, his mind is probably still good). 4 is the best-case scenario but some combination of 2 and 3 is probably more likely. Anyway, the fact that the Estate was directly involved gives me a little reason for hope. But not too much.

With Simon helping, I guess 4 might be at least partly true. How good is Chris and Simon’s relationship? Was the fallout between Christopher and Simon over his cameo in the RotK film exaggerrated, or was that another Tolkien?

Still keeping my expectations in check, but feeling less dismissive of it now.

[Beutlin]

With Simon helping, I guess 4 might be at least partly true. How good is Chris and Simon’s relationship? Was the fallout between Christopher and Simon over his cameo in the RotK film exaggerrated, or was that another Tolkien?

The Tolkien with the cameo(s) in the films is Royd Tolkien, a great-grandson of the professor (http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Royd_Tolkien), descended from Michael Tolkien.
The author Simon Tolkien would therefore be his first cousin once removed, I believe. (Tolkien family tree is getting as complicated as the family trees in the books)

[Voronwë the Faithful]

The rift between Christopher and Simon Tolkien was reportedly severe enough that they did not speak to each other for several years, but they reportedly sorted out their differences and Simon dedicated one of his most recent books to his father.

Sent from my LG G6 using Tapatalk

[Frelga]

'Lord of the Rings': Amazon Taps 'Star Trek 4' Duo to Develop TV Series

Following an extensive search, Amazon Studios has tapped JD Payne and Patrick McKay (Star Trek 4, Jungle Cruise) to develop its forthcoming big-budget take on Lord of the Rings. Jennifer Salke, who made the announcement Saturday during her debut as head of Amazon Studios at the Television Critics Association's summer press tour, stopped short of saying Payne and McKay would serve as writers or showrunners.

[Dave_LF]

Film School Rejects wrote what is actually a nicely informed, nuanced takedown of the (mostly) hypothetical idea of a young Aragorn series.

[Inanna]

Yov will love that article.

[samaranth]

And I also love that article! As a former denizen of Frodo's Kitchen, it brings back fond memories of debates about choice, fate and destiny. Thanks for posting it, Dave.

[Alatar]

Its a good article but it misses the fundamental point. The show has to be about "something". He states that there's no point in doing a show rehashing the movies, and then says there's no point doing a show that's not Hobbit centric. Thing is, we've seen the Hobbit centric stories already. I mean, sure, you could say there's no point in making the series at all, but that's hardly helpful.

[Inanna]

I agree, Al. It was just an opinion piece. Well written though.

[yovargas]

Yov will love that article.

I kind of assumed you were joking but man, it's like every point in the article was taken out of my brain!

l I mean, sure, you could say there's no point in making the series at all, but that's hardly helpful.

Making this series will probably be hardly helpful too.

[Alatar]

I wish this tv series had never been greenlit. I wish none of this had happened.
So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is how to enjoy the series that is given to us.

[Frelga]

Good one, Al.

I generally think it's gauche to come into a discussion and say that you don't care about the subject, but given that I spent over ten years of my life talking about Tolkien-related things, it's at least a little remarkable how indifferent I am to the idea of this show.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

A tidbit from Sir Peter Jackson about the show, amongst an interview with some other interesting tidbits.

Jackson also revealed that Amazon had asked him about possibly being involved in upcoming The Lord of the Rings TV series, which they plan to be "set in the same world" as the movies. But while happy to share his designs and have a look at their scripts, he ruled out further involvement because of the Tolkien estate's insistence on final approval over casting, storylines and scripts. "It would be impossible for me to [direct] without that control," he said.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/c ... am-busters

[kzer_za]

So I've thought about it, and I don't like the idea of a young Aragorn show - which has not definitively been confirmed, far as I can tell. Does anyone really want to learn about Aragorn's love life before Arwen, or see him sloooowly struggle with embracing his destiny over time? (I like movie Aragorn fine and don't mind the change with one exception, but it really wouldn't work for a show). Plus, it would almost certainly have a "tour around Middle Earth" feel, when I'd rather them linger on particular areas and develop them gradually.

If you're going to do imaginative stories (or fan fiction, depending on how charitable a term you want to use) in the Third Age, I'd rather them be focused on new characters or at least minor ones. You can do whatever you want with a new character, within reason. I realize marketability would be a concern, but on the other hand forced prequel-itis could sink the show's long-term viability.

Like a group of Dúnedain rangers could provide a solid base for a show - maybe Aragorn could be the recurring captain, but not in the main cast. The northern rangers are a pretty compelling concept to begin with, as the unappreciated guardians of the Shire and Bree-land. And you'd have a nice mix of places all in one geographic area: familiar movie locations like the Shire, familiar book locations like the barrow-downs, and more peripheral book areas to develop speculatively like some of the northern ruins and Forochel. Then eventually they can go beyond Eriador.

Of course doing this or anything else right will require some very good writers, who are both creative and have great understanding/respect for the source material.